You Can't Take the Sky

Originally posted on ZuckerBaby's Meanderings on June 03, 2005

I've edited this post to put in the (hopefully) date non sensitive link to my essay.

Yeah, I know, I know. No more Firefly related posts. But damnit, I'm excited!!

Moviegeekz are running "7 Days of Serenity", a series of reviews and issues by Browncoats about Serenity, and why everyone should be getting amped to see it.

Well, guess who wrote today's essay, "Taking to that sky"? Yup, that's right. I've been published by someone who isn't me. It's very exciting. Plus, both Brian Mesick and J. Allen Holt have been incredibly supportive of my effort (given that they received it last night and it was up on the website this morning, I'd say monumentally supportive), which is just icing to the cake!

So, have a squizz, and then look at the previous two day's essays, and keep on checking out what the rest of the week brings (as well as, you know, just wandering around the site in general - it's lots of fun!)

Originally posted on ZuckerBaby's Meanderings on May 18, 2005

Okay, I know I promised no more Firefly posts, but this is just too exciting not to post. The Australian release date for Serenity has been moved from November 10 up to September 29, in line with the US release date (well, kinda the day before, a bit).

I am so ridiculously overexcited about this news. I'm viewing the whole thing as a birthday present - my birthday is in September, they give me Serenity in September, and the world is a wonderful place.

Originally posted on ZuckerBaby's Meanderings on May 5, 2005

Fandom is an odd thing. It's something that I've always watched from the outside. It's something at which I've occasionally poked (loving) fun. It was always something I've known I had the capacity for, given my rabid and somewhat disturbing enthusiasm for specific telly shows over the years. However, it hasn't been until this year that I've been able to fully grasp the fandom flag and wave it firmly over my head. And, of course, readers of this blog have pretty much copped that flag full in the face (and it's a bitch to get untangled, I know!)

So I'm going to try and calm that whole side of the blog down, and actually write stuff people may want to read. I might even get around to making up that promised web page of photos from New Zealand, instead of obsessively making Firefly/Serenity tshirts (or not, as the case may be). So for the moment, all I've got to say is:

Watch Firefly! It's awfully good! It may not turn you into a slavering fan, as I have become, but at the very least you'll enjoy it. If possible, buy the dvds. Because you're going to want to watch it again.

Keep watching the skies!...Er, no, what I actually meant was...Keep an eye out for Serenity the Movie - in cinemas in Australia November 10, 2005. It's a dark, delightful, shocking and powerful rollercoaster ride of a movie, and if you love your sf, you're going to love it.

And thus ends my squealing fangirl post.

Originally posted on ZuckerBaby's Meanderings on April 28, 2005

Because I don't have the knowledge of the tech-no-lo-gy to do this myself, I'm presenting to you someone else's hard work.
Screencaps of the Serenity trailer, bright and shiny and new. (and, as an added bonus, some groovy behind the scenes photos!)

I saw the movie (in a rough but almost done state) at a test screening last night, and I'm just blown away. Yes, I am a raving fan of Firefly and Joss Whedon, but I did attempt to be vaguely objective (when I wasn't laughing at the wonderful oneliners or sitting on the edge of my seat during many dramatic moments), and I think that Joss has done a great job of making sure that non fans can get a huge amount of enjoyment out of the movie. It's funny, dramatic, action packed, moving, the special effects are beautiful, the plot is intricate and confronting and there are twists aplenty - and some goosepimply shocks.

November 10 is too far away to see this again - or see it anew, in its' finished state. Guess I'll just have to watch me some of those Firefly episodes again - and so should you all.

Keep flyin'.

Originally posted on ZuckerBaby's Meanderings on April 27, 2005

This is a post purely for those Firefly nuts out there. The trailer for Serenity is out!! At the moment, you need Apple QuickTime to play it, but it should be available in a Windows Media version soon (I hope!)

Bugger it, this isn't just for the Firefly nuts. Have a squizz. It's fast, fun, furious and is going to be a blast.

And, I'm totally seeing it this evening. How cool is that?!

Originally posted on ZuckerBaby's Meanderings on April 20, 2005

I'm very excited. Due to the fact that I am a registered Browncoat, I have swindled me some tickets to a test screening of Serenity, the Firefly movie. It is most definitely a shiny moment. I am a happy happy camper. Though part of me is a bit worried that I'm going to spoil myself for when the movie officially comes out in November...nah, who am I kidding? I'm the happiest woman in the 'verse!

I'm also going to take a moment here to mention a major plot point in Firefly that I left out when I enthused about the series recently. And that is the Reavers, a group of cannabilistic freakazoid bad guys who terrorize the edges of populated space. According to Zoe, if your ship is boarded by Reavers, they will rape you to death, eat your flesh and sew your skin into clothing...and if you're really lucky, in that order.

And on that cheerful note, I'm off to do another (slow and fluey) happy dance due to tickets to screening...

Originally posted on ZuckerBaby's Meanderings on March 22, 2003

As you might have gathered, I do tend to be enthused (some would say obsessed) about much in pop culture - especially those rare telly shows that transcend their small screen status, and really take me into another world.

Firefly is one of those shows. It does help that it was conceived and written by one of my heroes, Joss Whedon, but having recently viewed it in almost its' entirety (I don't want to watch the last episode because, well, it's the last episode and that's kind of depressing) I am more than impressed. I am downright stupified by the series. In fact, I think it's shiny.

It took me a while to see Firefly, partly because I wasn't entirely sure I could believe Nathan Fillion playing a hero (or, more precisely, antihero) after the sheer horror of his turn as Caleb (you know, the agent of the First. Misogynistic evil skin crawly icky bad guy) in the last series of Buffy. But when the series finally made it onto Australian screens, I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, the channel showing it made the same mistake that Fox had done, showing it out of order (and also, changing the times, nights, weeks it was on!) and I wasn't really captured by it. Luckily, however, a friend gifted me with a box set of the series upon my return from New Zealand, and now I am a dyed in the wool Firefly fan.

And as such, I present to you, an introduction (which contains a number of minor spoilers, but I've tried to keep that to a minimum):

The Firefly universe is set 500 years in the future. The main governing body of Earth settled worlds (there aren't any aliens, and humans are expanding out into the universe by terraforming planets) is the Alliance, made up of the two remaining governments, those of China and the US. The Alliance itself is essentially controlled by a major conglomerate of corporations, the most notable of which is Blue Sun. In recent times, there has been a civil war, with the Alliance defeating those who fought for Independents forces (colloquially known as Browncoats). The anniversary of this victory is Unification Day (or U Day).

There is a tremendous mishmash of cultures, with everyone sprinkling Mandarin (usually curses!!) through their English, and other wonderful touches such as Bao and chopsticks regularly appearing at meals. In addition to all of this tremendous, lush background, the frontier spirit that is apparent on the terraformed worlds is embodied in the filmic Western setting - everyone rides horses, has sidearms, speaks in that southern kind of drawl. The outlying planets are mostly desert and scrub, with wide wide open spaces and tiny shanty towns, and most of the little people have a somewhat cavalier attitude towards the law. The Alliance planets are much more futuristic and traditionally sf in feel - all towering highrises and metallic surfaces, along with packed cities and totalitarian rule.

Amidst all of this, we have the crew and passengers of the Firefly class ship, Serenity. Captain Mal Reynolds (played with relish and lovely tight pants [and occasionally none at all!!] by Nathan Fillion) fought with the Independents, and lost all hope the day that the Alliance truimphed. He bought Serenity to do a little honest trading (and a hell of a lot of dishonest smuggling) and keep one step away from Alliance rule. His second in command is Zoe Warren (a strong, capable, beautiful and above all soldierly Gina Torres), who fought with Mal in the Independents forces. Her husband is 'Wash' Washburn (Alan Tudyk), the pilot and resident smartarse (in a crew full of smartarses - it being a Joss Whedon show and all). There's Jayne (Adam Baldwin - thankfully not one of "the" Baldwins), an amoral gunloving psychpath. Always useful to have on board a very small transport ship!! And the lovely heart of the crew, Kayly (Jewel Staite), the mechanic whose sweetness and positivity brings light to the dark places in which the crew often finds themselves.

Inara (Morena Baccarin), a registered Companion (along the same lines as a geisha, I think), is not a passenger, nor is she really part of the crew. She travels on Serenity in order to conduct business. She rents one of the shuttles, and her presence on board brings a certain level of respectability to Serenity. The passengers, taken on for the quick cash that they bring, are few. The preacher, or Shepherd, Book (Ron Glass) is a steady man of the cloth, gentle and spiritual, but with some mystery as to why he is travelling and what is in his past. There's Simon Tam (Sean Maher), a high class gentleman, who trained to become one of the best surgeons in the 'verse. And finally, there's River (Summer Glau), Simon's sister, a fragile and fractured genius, whose recent past holds a world of pain and torture, and whose presence on the ship is a danger to all.

This is a richly imagined world, with backstory told in shorthand that allows you to believe totally in this universe. The little notes and flourishes in the set design and dialogue tell you more than any amount of exposition ever could - Mal, with his gunslinger attitude and dusty ranch clothes, drinking out of a tin cup and delicately eating his meal with chopsticks. A bamboo steamer set into the middle of the dining table. The conversation dropping into Mandarin and back into English so naturally (there are no subtitles for the Mandarin - though some of the fansites do have the translations. My favourite exclamation from Wash is "Mother of God and all of her wacky nephews!!") Mal in a tavern brawl, getting thrown out of a holographic window that shimmers and reforms behind him. Even the twangy guitar and gravelly voiced (yet strangely effecting) theme song brings another facet of the Firefly reality alive.

The special effects are clear and so lifelike. The direction of both the live action and the CGI is that of hand held cameras - Joss Whedon wanted this to feel like 'found footage'. The ship is big enough for a cargo bay, but the rest of the interior is small and cramped, with exposed pipes and dirty floors. The lighting is, once again, 'found'. Scenes are lit from the lamp in the corner of the table, from the strip lighting above the walkways. This makes all of the interiors feel real and connected and believable.

There was only ever one series of this inventive, lush, dark, funny show made - and that run was cancelled by Fox halfway through. Thanks to the dedicated fanbase, a box set of the series is now available, and I would urge you to run, don't walk, to purchase said box set. Firefly is absolutely worth it, and you really need to get familiar with it, as the feature length movie Serenity is coming out in late 2005.

I decided that I needed a Firefly specific blog, as I'm just bursting with fanatical enthusiasm for Firefly and Serenity, but didn't want to inflict it on them that don't want to know. So here it is...

I'm going to move a lot of my Firefly stuff over here from my other blog as well (if I can), and hopefully I'll be able to maintain both of the blogs for the forseeable future...